Bowling alley surfacing and leveling machine



July 21, 1942. J.HN. KIRCHNER BOWLING ALLEY SURFACING AND LEVELINGMACHINE Filed March 211 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEI\ ITOR JustusAllan-finer.

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ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-Sht 2 twig s a mu INVENTQR Jusluslwarclmeh ATTORNEY Juy 21, .1942- J. N. KIRCHNER BOWLING ALLEY SURFACING AND. LEVELINGMACHINE Filed March 21, 1940 Patented July 21, 1942 UNiTED STTES FTENTOFIQEZ BOWLING ALLEY SURFACING AND LEVEL- ING MACHINE Appiication March21, 1940, Serial No. 325,170

6 Claims.

This invention relates to floor surfacing machines, and moreparticularly to an improved sanding machine for resurfacing a bowlingalley.

One object of the present invention is to provide means for moving arotary sanding cylinder accurately in a horizontal plane parallel to thealley over its entire area so that the completed surface thereof will beperfectly level and smooth both in lengthwise and crosswise directions.

Another object is to provide a machine of the above nature having tracksto adjustably support the rotary sanding cylinder in the concave guttersat each side of the alley so that said tracks may be leveled for theentire length of the alley.

A still further object is to provide an improved drum sanding machinefor a bowling alley which will be relatively inexpensive to manufacture,simple in construction, compact, and very efficient and durable in use.

With these and other objects in View, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, there have been illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings two forms in which the invention may be conveniently embodiedin practice.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view of the improved surfacing machineinstalled upon a bowling alley.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same showing only a portion ofthe bowling alley, and showing in dotted lines the position of thesanding drum.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view looking downwardly in the direction of the arrows4-4 of Fig. 3, and showing the joint between a pair of track rails.

Fig. 5 is a plan view similar to Fig. 4, showing a portion of the trackrail intermediate the ends thereof.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-4: of Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a view on an enlarged scale of a modified form of mechanismfor vertically adjusting the sides of the carriage.

In the common method of resurfacing a bowling alley by a drum sandingmachine, it is impossible for the operator to push the machine down andacross the alley at a uniform rate of speed, and hence, ridges ordepressions are often cut into the wooden alley due to the fact that theentire Weight of the sander rests directly upon the surface of thealley.

contend with the fact that usually 50% of the wood in a bowling alley ishard maple and the balance is soft pine. Since the sander will cut thesoft pine more rapidly than the hard maple, the former will be cutdeeper than the latter unless the operator can adjust his walking speedto compensate for the difference in cutting speeds, which is practicallyimpossible. Moreover, in the latest construction of alleys, the outerboard on each side adjacent the gutters is constructed of hard maple theentire length of the alley, causing the intermediate part of the alleytherebetween to become dished.

By means of the present invention, the above and other disadvantageshave been overcome and a fool proof apparatus for and method ofresurfacing a bowling alley have been devised which will sand the alleysurface almost to an In addition to this handicap, the operator mustexact horizontal level regardless of how badly the alley may be warped,grooved, depressed, worn, or settled.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference numerals designatelike parts throughout the several views, the numeral Ill denotes asurfacing means, preferably a rotatable cylinder having its peripheralsurface ll covered with fine sand or the like. The sanding cylinder ordrum it) may be rapidly rotated by any suitable means, such as a motor(not shown), which may be mounted on a rectangular frame l2 in which thesanding cylinder I0 is journaled. The frame l2 rests upon a transversecarriage l3 having a pair of hollow rectangular end portions l4 and i5which are provided at their outer ends with two pairs of opposing upperand lower bearing blocks It, i1 and I9, 20, supporting a pair oftransversely extending shafts i8 and 2|, respectively.

The upper bearing blocks I0 and I9 are each adapted to be engaged by thelower end of a pair of hand screws 22, 22, which are threaded through apair of bosses 23, 23 provided on an upper cross member 24 of each ofthe end portions I l and I5. The lower bearing blocks l1 and 20 are eachconstantly urged upwardly against the respective shafts l8 and 2| by acoiled compression spring 25, 25, which reacts between the respectiveblock ll or 20, and a lower cross member 26, 25, of the end portions Mand I5. Each pair of blocks I5, I1, and I9, 20 is retained in placelengthwise with respect to the frame I2, 13 by an inwardly disposedstationary vertical partition 2? and a vertical plate 28 removablysecured on the outer end of the frame I3 by screws 29 (see Fig. 6).

In order to permit the sander to be moved longitudinally along thebowling alley, the carriage I3 is provided with four wheels 30 rotatablymounted on each end of each of the shafts I 8 and 2!. Each wheel 39(Fig. 3) is provided at its periphery with an annular groove 3| havinginwardly converging side walls 32 and 33, the outer portion of saidwheel 30 being mounted on an outer ball bearing raceway 34 and beingsecured thereto by a key 35. Inner ball bearing raceways 36 are securedto the respective shafts l8 or 2| as by keys 31, and said inner raceways36 are held upon the respective shafts [B or 21, as by spring retainerrings 38 snapped into an annular groove 39 provided in the end of theshaft l8, 2| for this purpose.

Cover plates 49 are secured to the outer end surfaces of each wheel 39by screws 4| to completely protect the ends of the shafts l8 and 2! andthe ball races 34 and 36, and each of said cover plates 49 has a greasefitting 42 threaded theneinto in alinement with the space between theball races 34 and 36. Provision is also made of an annular fiat ring 43secured to the inner surface of each wheel 35 by screw 44, said ringsurrounding the respective shaft l8 or 2!. In addition, a felt greaseretaining ring 45 is carried by each ring 43 to engage the periphery ofa thrust collar 46 on the shaft ill or 21 adjacent the inner surface ofthe inner ball race 35. By means of this construction, the balls 47 andball races 34 and 35 will be efficiently and constantly lubricated bygrease inserted through the fitting 42.

The sander carriage mounted on the four Wheels 39 is adapted to rollalong a pair of tracks 48 and 49 of inverted T-shaped cross-section, oneof which is provided at each side of the frame 13. The tracks 48, 49 areprovided with vertically disposed sections 59 thereof, the upper edge ofwhich closely fits; in the groove 3! of the wheel 30 between the beveledwalls 32 and 33 provided therein.

.The tracks 48 and 49 are adapted to be supported beyond the oppositeside edges of the bowling alley to be surfaced by a plurality ofhorizontal central clamping gutter plates 52, which in turn aresupported by plates 53 and 54 located in the sides of the gutters 55.The outer end of the plate 54 rests upon a shoulder 55 formed betweenthe concavely curved alley gutter 55 and the horizontal alley 5|, whilethe outer end of the plate 53 rests upon a shoulder 5! formed betweenthe alley gutter 56 and a side board 58.

The side plates 53 and 54 are each secured to the central gutter plate52 by screws 59 which pass through elongated openings 66 provided in theplates 53 and 54, and screw-thread into the plate 52. By means of thisconstruction, the side gutter plates 53 and 54 may be adjusted withrespect to the central plate 52 so as to vary the lateral position ofthe tracks 48, 49, between the alley 51 and the side board 58, andtransversely adjust said rails into parallelism with the edge of thealley 5i and also with respect to each other.

The central gutter plate 52 is supported upon the concavely curved alleygutter 56 by a vertically adjusting screw 5! having a hand wheel 62thereon by which it may be manually rotated. The screw 61 is threadedinto a sleeve 63 which is suitably secured to and extends downwardlyfrom the central plate 52. A look nut 64 is provided on the screw 6|below thesleeve 63 to lock the screw 6| thereto in any desired adjustedposition thereon. The screw 6| is provided with a pointed lower end 65which seats in a conical counterbore 66 formed in a block 61, whichblock 61 has a convex under surface 69 to correspond with the curvatureof the concave gutter 56. By means of this construction it will beevident that rotation of the screw 6| will raise or lower the tracksupporting plate 52 to vertically adjust the track accurately to thedesired level.

The plates 52 are preferably disposed along the respective tracks 48 and49 at intervals of about 20 inches from center to center for supportingthe rails 48 and 49, which may be in sections of any desired lengths toavoid the inconvenience of making the tracks in one piece which would beunwieldy and difficult to transport from place to place. At the jointurebetween two rails, four clamping, screws 69 may be employed, two on eachside of the vertical section 50 of the track (see Fig. 4). Atintermediate points of the rail, it may be secured to the gutter plate52 by means of only two screws 69, one on each side of the verticalsection 56 (see Fig. 5).

The screws 69 pass through openings 70 provided in the base ll of therespective track 48 or 49, and thread into the central gutter plate 52to securely clamp the track rail thereto. In order to be able to adjustthe track vertically in respect to the gutter plate 52 for properlyleveling it, adjusting screws 12 are provided at each plate 52 adjacenteach screw 69. The screws I2 are screw-threaded through the track base'H and abut against the plate 52, being locked in their adjustedposition when the track is leveled by lock nuts 13.

In the modified form shown in Fig. '7, the screw 6la has in its upperend a kerf 61b which is adapted to be engaged by a screw driver (notshown) inserted through an opening 480. in the central vertical part 59of the rail track 48 (49). In this form, the hand wheel may be omitted.

Operation In operation, when it is desired to use the present invention,a plurality of central gutter plates 52 assembled to the outer plates 53and 54 will be laid along each of the gutters 56 and the tracks 48 and49 loosely secured thereto. One track will then be adjusted intoparallelism with the side edge of the alley 5|. This track will then beleveled by means of a spirit level 14 and manual adjustment of thescrews 6| and 69. After the first track has been leveled and alined asabove described, the other track will be likewise leveled and broughtinto parallelism with the first track.

The carriage l3 will then be placed upon the tracks 48 and 49 with thegroove 3! of the wheels 39 embracing the top edge of the verticalsections 59 of said tracks. The sanding cylinder ID will then be placedon and secured to the carriage, and the carriage 13 will be leveledbymanipulation of the hand screws 22 and the use of the spirit level 14.The carriage 13 will then be moved slowly along the tracks 48 and 49from one end of the alley 5i to the other, whereby the upper surfaceofsaid alley will be resurfaced and leveled by the sanding drum 10.

It will be understood that it is within the spirit and scope of thepresent invention to omit the adjustment hand screws 22 on the rear ofthe carriage l3 if desired.

It will also be understood that instead of securing the outer and innerball raceways 34 and 36 to the outer portions of the wheels 30 and theshafts I8 or 2| by keys 35 and 31 respectively, said ball raceways may,if desired, be pressed upon said wheel and shafts within the scope ofthe invention, and thus held in position without the use of keys.

The lock nut 64 on the screw 6| may also in some cases be omitted, ifdesired, within the scope of the present invention.

While there have been disclosed in this specification two forms in whichthe invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that these formsare shown for the purpose of illustration only, and that the inventionis not to be limited to the specific disclosures, but may be modifiedand embodied in various other forms without departing from its spirit.In short, the invention includes all the modifications and embodimentscoming within the scope of the following claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what .is claimed as new andfor which it is desired to secure Letters Patent, is:

1. In a floor surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair ofconcave gutters, a pair of tracks for supporting a sanding mechanismcarriage mounted in said gutters, means to support said tracks, andmeans to manually adjust the vertical and horizontal positions of saidtracks, whereby said tracks may be leveled and brought into parallelism,said track supporting means comprising a central longitudinal plate, anda pair of side plates adjustably secured to said central plate said sideplates resting in the sides of said gutter.

2. In a floor surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair ofconcave gutters, a pair of tracks for supporting a sanding mechanismcarriage mounted in said gutters, means to support said tracks, andmeans to manually adjust the vertical and horizontal positions of saidtracks, whereby said tracks may be leveled and brought into parallelism,said track supporting means including a central longitudinal plate, apair of side plates adjustably connected to said central plate andresting in the sides of said gutter and a plurality of depending gutterengaging screws to accurately adjust the level of said tracks.

3. In a surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair of concavegutters, a pair of parallel tracks for supporting a sanding mechanismcarriage to permit it to travel along said tracks from one end of saidalley to the other, means located at spaced intervals along the lengthof said gutters to support said tracks, each track supporting meansincluding a block having a convex under surface fitting upon saidgutter, a vertical block engaging screw and a longitudinal plateconnected with said screw and having its sides supported upon the sidesof said gutter, and manually operated means for rotating said screw tomove said plate up and down for accurately adjusting the level of saidtracks.

4. In a surfacing machine for a bowling alley having a pair of guttersadjacent the sides thereof, a plurality of blocks located in saidgutters at spaced intervals along the lengths thereof, a plurality ofmanually rotatable screws having pointed ends fitted in said blocks, aplurality of track-supporting central plates having depending threadedsleeves screwed upon the upper portions of said screws, and a pluralityof pairs of side plates secured to said central plates and resting inthe sides of said gutters.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which lock nuts are providedon said screws for engaging the ends of said sleeves.

6. The invention as defined in claim 4, in which means are provided toadjust the angular position of said tracks with respect to theirrespective central plates.

J USTUS N. KIRCHNER.

